Bartleby, the Scrivener

And Other Piazza Tales

Considered one of the greatest American writers, Herman Melville leaves the sea behind in this short story collection to write about Wall Street offices, the Galapagos Islands, a sinister architect, apathy, capitalism, and humanity’s precarious nature. In “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” a Manhattan lawyer struggles with a clerk who “prefers not” to do work or leave the office building. In “Benito Cereno,” a captain stumbles upon a Spanish slave ship off the coast of Chile, whose captain has been overthrown in a revolt. The short story collection also includes “The Piazza,” “The Lightning-Rod Man,” “The Encantadas,” and the “Bell-Tower.” This is an unabridged version of the 1856 edition.